Feb. 21, 2014
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Police crime scene tape. / By Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP

by Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY

by Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY

Four people are dead after a woman began shooting during a meeting at an American Indian settlement in northeast California to discuss the eviction of her and her son, according to Alturas, Calif., police.

Alturas Police Chief Ken Barnes said 44-year-old Sherie Lash was taken into custody after allegedly opening fire at the Cedarville Rancheria Tribal Office and Community Center in Alturas, about 55 miles south of the Oregon border and 35 miles west of the Nevada line.

One published report said one of the victims was a police officer, but Alturas police said this is not true.

The victims were a female, 19; male, 30; female, approximately 45; and male, 50, Barnes said of the incident in northeast California.

Two more people were shot, Barnes said. One of the wounded was shot once and airlifted to a hospital and another who received multiple wounds was taken to a hospital nearby, Barnes said.

The building where the center is located also includes an educational center and a day care center with a kitchen, Barnes said. Lash allegedly grabbed a butcher's knife from the kitchen and went after a gunshot victim hit multiple times, but authorities were not clear on whether she actually stabbed that person, Barnes said.

In addition to the two who were shot and injured, a pregnant woman was jostled during the commotion and taken to a hospital to be checked out, Barnes said.

The rancheria is a federally recognized tribe with 35 members, according to the tribe's website.

Barnes had no immediate information on whether Lash, who is also known as Sherie Rhoades, had previously been in trouble with the law.